Technical Field
The present invention relates to a broiler container having a floor and side walls defining an inner volume which is designed and configured to receive and accommodate at least five live broilers, wherein the broiler container is designed and configured to be stackable with broiler containers of the same construction and has at least one ventilation opening and at least one air outflow opening.
State of the Art
Broiler containers (also called broiler transport containers, transport containers or containers in the following) of this type are known from GB 2 129 672 A and EP 0 867 113 A2, for example, and are very widely used in the transport of poultry from farms to slaughterhouses.
The invention relates also to a unit (also called a transport unit or broiler transport unit in the following) which is designed and configured to receive and accommodate live broilers during rearing and/or during transport of the broilers to the slaughterhouse and/or while the live broilers are awaiting processing in the region of the slaughterhouse, comprising at least two containers. Broilers can be transported from farms to slaughterhouses in broiler transport units as described in WO 2011/010329 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,382,141, wherein during transport the broilers are supplied with fresh air by natural ventilation, which is effected by the movement of the trailer, and ventilation air can be guided to the outside of the broiler transport units when the trailer is stopped.
Broilers are slaughter-ready chickens or hens or turkeys which are reared to be ready for slaughter for supplying meat to consumers, and they have fully developed plumage and a considerable weight of at least 1.6 kg per broiler.
An overview of current practices is given by the European Food Safety Authority in the scientific report “Overview on current practices of poultry slaughtering and poultry meat inspection” by Dr. Ulrich Löhren, Supporting Publications 2012: EN-298. In the report, the transport containers are referred to as crates and are to be distinguished from liners, which are cages that are fixed to the truck and cannot be unloaded, and container systems, which are transport units having a plurality of floors in a fixed frame, as described, for example, in EP 0 384 530 A1. According to the report, 30% of broilers are currently (2012) transported in the broiler transport containers that are relevant for the present invention, and 70% are transported in container systems.
As described in GB 2 129 672 A, European regulations require broiler containers with fixed floors, the main purpose of which is to prevent bird droppings from containers that are situated at the top of a stack of containers from falling onto birds in containers beneath. Units comprising at least two broiler containers are known from EP 1 330 952 B1 and EP 0 384 530 A1, for example, and are very widely used in the transport of poultry from farms to slaughterhouses and provide a very high transport capacity. The basis of the broiler transport containers is that they are placed in frame systems as described in EP 1 330 952 B1, for example, and held therein during transport. These frames must also be cleaned and, because of their size, require very large washing machines.
Transport units having a plurality of floors are currently filled by filling a floor starting with the lower floor. An example thereof is described in EP 0 384 530 A1, where part of the upper floors is pushed to the side in order to gain access to the lower floor. After the lower floor has been loaded, the floor above it is closed and the loading operation is continued on that floor, and so on, until the transport unit is fully loaded. The displacement of floor regions for opening and closing access is simple and can be carried out quickly and reliably. This is considered to be one of the factors which explain the extensive use of transport units for broiler transport. Systems for catching and feeding broilers are widespread because they permit mechanical catching of the broilers. A broiler catcher is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,062, and such systems currently deliver broilers at rates of from 50 per minute to more than 200 per minute. The loading of broilers into the transport units accordingly takes place quickly, and easy and reliable operation of the transport unit during loading is a factor to be taken into consideration.